Old World Blues: Academy City
by Atomic44
Summary: Well, the old world always had an allure, a dream that was forever unreachable. But reality was never a leash for Big Mountain, even before the courier arrived. Also expect a blend of lore from different Fallout game, and a good number of the A Certain... series.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/n I don't own any of these works, please support the official release.**_

"Old world blues became a saying meaning hope. Hope that the future will bring good"

-multiple sources

"Okay this is good doctor 0 crank up the power, 8 keep the terminals steady,

Klein hand me the wrench."barked Carter. Carter was known as the courier, a moniker in the mojave that meant he was the messiah of the west. Courier Six the last of strange packages in the mojave express going from a near death experience from the hands of a casino owner, to the most feared man in a matter of months. Currently he was working with the brains of big mountain to create a teleportation system for him to move quickly throughout the world. His goal was to find the commonwealth and make relations to benefit each other.

"Doctor Mobius made the calculations we made the teletransporter a reality, now a multiway transporter!" Exclaimed Carter he could barely hold his excitement.

"But who is to test it teddy bear?" said doctor dala. This would normally be nice but when it was mentioned he was working with brains, it's literal the scientists at big mountain were brains in jars that had robotic life systems, sadly they had no memory of their former pre-war selves. They all had personalities but only remembered pieces of themselves.

"That's a good question..." Carter Thought about it. He hesitated but finally said "I'll do it."

"But teddy bear-"said Dala before being cut off.

"Think about it, wherever I end up I can defend myself and survive. I end up in water I won't short circuit. This is my project, it's only my right."

"He has a point."said Klein and all the brains turned to stare at him in what could be glares.

Suddenly the screen turned on showing doctor mobius "He has survived worse I agree also." He yelled through through the monitor "He is worthy!"

"What's the weight limit?" Asked carter equipping his T-51b power armor.

"If my calculations are correct, which they are, it should be around 250 pounds for anything you take." answered mobius.

"So I can take about 110 pounds of gear with me… well 44 pounds in power armor, two in clothes, a week's supply of food and ammo...damn, I'll be packing light." he went to put stuff into a locker in the lab. "I'll take Lucky, Two-Step, oh the MF.H. and my trusty shotgun. that leaves me to take 40 lbs. of food and ammo enough for another week."

"Please be safe teddy bear," said dala.

"Comeback soon." added doctor zero.

"Come on guys, don't you have any faith?" asked Carter before going into a minor laughing fit. "I'll be back soon."

Boy was he wrong.

* * *

Carter found himself 10 feet in the air and falling quickly

"Goddamn it, Mobius!" he yelled as he fell into a river. Luckily it was a river, but sadly he had 46 pounds of armor on making it difficult to swim as water pressure built around him, and the power armor struggled with the drastic change. Accessing his pip boy to equip the pre-war parkstroller outfit, that consisted of a red shirt and dark brown pants and classic shoes with a star on the outer ankle. The cold water rushed against him as his new clothing was formed around his body and the power armor disappeared. He was able to swim to the surface and tore himself free of the dark water, before heading for the shore at a swift pace. Climbing onto the cement ledge at the edge and hungrily grasping for air, Carter let himself fall onto the grass that lined the edges softly and sighed.

His hand grasped the growth under him, feeling it a few times with his fingers.

"Is this?" A cool breeze blew over his face as he stared upwards, and in the corner of his vision he saw structures aiming skywards. Really, really tall buildings.

"What in the…?" He immediately bolted upright, before turning his head left and right. The sounds of talking and some sort of machinery. Above him a few people were walking casually, studiously avoiding his gaze. Looking down, his eyes widened as he saw green plant life below him, not the horrible monstrosities of Vault 22 or the dusty crops of hopeful NCR farmers but very bright, green...plants that seemed to have been placed alongside the river simply for aesthetics.

The river too, was straighter than any natural one, neatly lined with concrete and metal, lined with clean slopes with more plants upon them. Reaching across and above the river like arms were a series of bridges placed at odd intervals, where Carter saw a multitude of people walking across them without nary a worry. Metal machines...automobiles like those strewn across the highways of the Mojave and Divide, and left in pieces in Big MT and Zion National Park. However, here they were working, and while his eyesight wasn't extraordinarily perceptive it didn't look like they were damaged or salvaged. In fact, nothing here seemed to show the damage of the Great War that plagued almost every destination he'd wandered.

"Another New Vegas?" Carter asked himself rhetorically as he ascended the slope and made his way onto a street, causing some people there to jump back in alarm and hurry away at his sudden and wet appearance as he gazed around dirty and unshaven, relatively clean to the wasteland but unknowingly giving off terrifying signals as he looked about like a predator, his person seeming more like an uncivilized vagrant. What made it worse was that he had a stupid smile on his face, under a couple days stubble, as he took in his surroundings. He found place untouched by war, and it was gorgeous. Big flashy buildings, holograms advertisements, brightly lit streets, and no thugs in sight, the only feeling he had was bliss. He decided to take a walk around the area. He saw things he had never seen before, like a store filled to the brim with prepackaged food that looked appetizing, and what's more they let anyone in! But he decided against going in the way he looked.

Most people in the city were well dressed and cleanly shaven and when the walked near him he could feel they were avoiding him. He noticed different uniforms and guessed they were part of factions within the city and none of them seemed to have hate for each other.

"Hello friend!" someone called out loudly.

"Huh?" he said turning around seeing a young man in leather pants and jacket with a t-shirt. His mind immediately realized what this person wanted upon looking him over carefully.

"Me?" he asked the teen

"Yes. Are there any other americans here?" said the teen with a bit of an eastern accent.

Carter laughed at the question before realizing what the teen said was true none of the looked like anyone from the mojave. 'Maybe somewhere in america people look entirely of asian descent, but why would he single me out?' he thought before giving his attention to the young man.

"You look like you need a place to stay the night." said the teen as cheekily as he could.

"Mh-hmh, it is getting pretty dark out, you know a hotel or someplace?" He asked

"Yeah I know a great place, and you can stay for cheap," he responded overly cheerful. 'Stupid people fall for this gag all the time,' the teen smirked to himself 'That smart-watch means he's got some serious dough, a real payout.'

After a few minutes and lots of alleyways later they came up to an abandoned building. It was windowless and and seemed to have been abandoned midway through its construction.

"Nice place! I like it, no registration and free rent right?" Carter asked rhetorically with a creepy smile.

"Right, thing is you just have to pay an entrance fee. Come on out guys." he said as a group of five other bigger teens joined with him.

"Don't worry, we'll leave you here when we're done." said the first thug with a smile.

" _Get him"_ said another one in a language carter didn't understand.

He put his right hand up in a taunting gesture and smirked "I have taken a bullet to the head, walked miles with crippled limps, killed creatures three times your size, torn trained soldiers apart with my bare hands, even been lobotomized as they removed my spine and my heart and yet still today I stand. I am known as the Monster of the Mojave, for laying waste to the armies to the east and west single-handedly. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"If half of that is true, you'd be dead." said the teen unimpressed.

'Well so much for talking my way through' thought Carter as he brought up his fists and got into a fighting stance.

" _That smartwatch looks valuable. I get to keep it cause I scouted him, got it!"_ said the teen to the others in the same unintelligible language. He pulled out a switchblade tucked into his waistband and looked to the others who had pipes and knives to fight.

The boy swiped at him, probably going for pain and not lethality considering the pains they'd have to go through in hiding a body. Carter threw his arm up, intercepting his knife-hand and throwing a kick into his knee. A sturdy kick shattered the bone and the boy let out a scream that was cut off as Carter disarmed him and slammed a practiced fist into his jaw in a brutal uppercut. He stumbled back, before falling as two others approached, mumbling something about making him pay.

Intercepting his a bash from a pipe by using his Pip-Boy as an impromptu shield before grabbing his arm, he slammed three repeating punched into the thug's chest, forcing him to drop the pipe. Carter swept his leg under the young man and watched him fall, before grabbing the pipe and facing the other man, who'd been joined by the other three and looked prepared to charge.

The man rushed him holding his 'weapon' like a spear, but Carter sidestepped and parried, before turning around and swinging into his midsection with brute force. Ribs cracked as his experienced strength ignored resistance and the man started to cough violently before collapsing. The other three looked at each other hesitantly, speaking a terse exchange in the same language he still couldn't understand, before walking around him.

"Shit," Carter murmured as his adrenaline pumped, time barely passing before he was surrounded. He'd get out fine, but he didn't want to waste medical supplies. Behind him, air whooshed as the first rushed, and in a move learned through facing down legionaries he didn't try to block or dodge, instead spinning around and charging back. Driving his shoulder into the man's chin, they both stumbled, but Carter recovered quickly and slammed him over the head with the pipe, drawing blood and leaving an angry, bleeding welt before he swung again, leaving the man to collapse in a heap.

" _You crazy American! Fuck this!"_ he heard, and spun expecting attack, but instead saw one of the men drop his weapon and hastily beat a retreat. Carter turned to the last man, who also watched his retreating comrade, before looking at the Courier. he dropped his pipe, and held his hands up in the sign of 'surrender'. The man slowly backed away, not breaking eye-contact, until at a safe distance, he turned and bolted. The Courier sighed as weariness settled in to replace the "battle's" excitement and dropped the shoddy pipe.

He pressed a few keys on his Pip-Boy, before grabbing Lucky as it materialized into the air. He turned to the first boy, the one who'd lured him here and leaned down, slapping his face repeatedly before he groaned and opened his eyes. Then they widened and he yelped, trying to pull himself up as pain shot through his knee, while carter smiled and readied the revolver.

"Now, I know you speak English. How about this," he backed up, before pressing Lucky's barrel against the boy's other knee. "Tell me what I want to know, and I mean everything, or chances are you'll never walk again." picking up the boy's switchblade and looking at him with a violent smile. "You can always choose not to cooperate." he said as he flipped the blade out. The boy shivered.

"Question one: Where am I?"

"District Ten!" answered the teen hastily only to be stared down by the man.

"In Academy City?! West of Tokyo? Japan?" he was stared as if he was silently being judged by the young man.

" _Japan? Where the hell did I end up in god knows where."_ He silently thought to himself as he stared at the teen that was nearly fainting.

"Question Two: What kind of jacket is that?"

"Leather?" answered the punk

"Give it." Commanded Carter.

"Question Three: Got any caps on you?"

The teens face went from scared to questioning. "You mean like bottle caps?"

"Yes," said Carter blankly "You better hand them over if you don't want me to bust your other knee."

The teen quickly checked his pockets, only to find a soda can tab, a box of cigarettes, and music player along with his wallet. Carter wasn't impressed and pushed lucky against the other knee.

"Ha ha. It was a joke what you want is money right?" laughed the teen nervously.

" _It never came across my mind that this place probably has a different currency!"_ He pinched his nose a bit and said "Yes, don't you understand sarcasm," trying to save face. "Now get out of here, before I change my mind." Carter waved at the entrance with Lucky and the boy started to hobble out, his mangles leg making it a slow process. "If you tell anyone what happened, remember," the boy turned towards him fearfully. "I'll end you."

After the boy left he decide to try to blend in more with the populace, first off he had to look young and the stubble was not the image of a carefree generation.

"Lucky I got this switchblade." Carter muttered to himself.

After shaving, and having a swim in the river again, he got an idea. He didn't know the language he would have to find a way to understand the people around him, the thought stopped as he felt the breeze on his face and was glad to have gotten a jacket from the punks earlier.

"That's it!" he was reminded of the store full of food "I can't try to figure this all out on an empty stomach, the kid gave me…" he searched his pockets for the slips of paper and studied them for a minute "...could be like ncr dollars but they have different leaders… food slips maybe for his faction? They could work at the store, I'm looking forward to something other canned or boxed 200 year old food."

He found the store and walked inside to find it had conditioned are like the think tank and aisles filled with colorful boxes with figures and bags of snack food and all the great things found in convenience stores.

He saw an pale, scraggly teen in a black shirt with white designs inside shoveling thin brown cans into a bag and walking to the man upfront to present a card, only to start walking away after swiping it. The boy gave off the impression of being frail, and his white hair resembled that of Ranger Ghost's. The only sense that Carter could make of it was that he was probably an honored member of this faction and had his perks, since he so easily got some drinks. The teen gave him a nasty, condescending look on his way out of the shop.

"Stuck up kid," mumbled Carter under his breathe

"What the fuck did you say?" the teen turned on him angrily, speaking in fluent English.

"Nothing don't worry yourself about it." answered Carter placatingly.

Another teen with a spiky hairstyle like one of the jackal gang members and a button up white shirt, walked in and noticed the first teen. He froze, paling and stepping back instinctively.

" _You!"_ snarled the teen in japanese as he recognized him, slowly turning towards him in rage.

The second boy looked at the first behind Carter, then at the Courier himself. " _Look at the time, I have to go!"_ he spouted hurriedly as he ran out of the store.

The white teen began in pursuit pushing carter out of the way with superhuman force making him hit a bookshelf, knocking Carter out in on impact.

"Hello... Hello... Sir are you okay?" a voice called from a distance as carter got his sense together.

"What happened?" asked carter as he was greeted to a girl in a brown vest with a light brown skirt and auburn hair in pigtails.

"You had a run in with the city's number one, I'm amazed you got up after that hit," answered the girl.

"And you are?" continued Carter

"Kuroko Shirai With judgement. Hold on…" she put her hand to her ear to talk through a communicator of some sort " _Uiharu thanks for reporting this is seems the victim is alright...Very well._ I have to go now there seems to be an incident at a vending machine, third time this week."

She smiled, walked outside and vanished into thin air. Carter rubbed his eyes thinking this probably did more damage than the bullet benny gave him a few months back.

He noticed a book on the ground that fell off the shelf he hit, it was plastered in pictures of characters in different art styles as he put it back he noticed another book with an english title, it read "Translation: English to Japanese."

' _Well today's not a complete loss I found something useful.'_ carter thought to himself as he skimmed through the book quickly.

He went up to the cashier and said "How much for this?" slowly in the language.

"That'll be …" answered the vendor

"Is this enough?" he asked

The cashier nodded, ' _goddamn it_ ' thought Carter as he walked outside. He sat on the curb and saw something black on the ground and kicked to hear it jingle. "What the…" he picked it up to see that it had more of the slips and some coins as well as a picture of the teen with spiky hair. "Wow someone unluckier than me, that's a shame," as he pulled out the slips of currency he heard a wail in the distance, something along the lines of "Fukou da!". He could guess its meaning well enough though, and chuckled heartily.


	2. The fun begins

"Time a concept relative to the person." Carter read out loud from a magazine in the food shop he now visited for the third day. He had gotten the hang of reading some of the new symbols that were strangely not chinese, although he was very confuse being that none of them in the book he bought on translations match his spec ops manuals.

"Now the Einstein thing makes sense to me, he was a great mind, no wonder the tesla science books make so much mention to him." Having no money and way too much time Carter needed something to fill it, and since exploring was out of the question with all the reading material that came into the shop, he'd found everything from science to day to day lifestyle magazines, he could not help but try his best to read all of them, but he made sure to stay away from the section at the far right of the display, filled with just pictures of either very top heavy women or exceedingly muscular men, either posed with women or other men, not knowledge. That was what he wanted to survive in this situation, as an advertisement said over the large tv screen a day earlier.

"You know you can visit a Library, RIght?" asked the manager of the establishment.

The employee was to scared to talk with him after having seen the news of a group of hooligans having been beat down a few days prior, having last been seen with the young man that was currently in the shop. He looked to be in his early twenties or so, having a small stature with olive skin and scruffy dark hair. He looked even younger thanks to having recently shaved, probably to hide his identity.

"What?" Carter turned to face the older man.

"There's a library not far from here, this is Academy City, a place dedicated to students." answered the older man sharply.

Carter pulled a slightly new book from his pocket and quickly flipped through the book looking for the words he'd just heard, "Academy...students...city?" he quietly mumbled to himself as he began to understand what the man had just said to him. His eyes opened widely as he realized the resource he'd just stumbled upon "Where might this library be?"

"Oh boy you've been lost for sometime haven't you...Here." said the manager handing him a small sheet with the address written on it." Ask around, people will help you find it, you look... nice enough."

One reason Carter did not like the city was the cars, shoot them and they would explode in atomic fury, stand in front of them and they stare one down with glaring lights, and moving ones were worse, who knows what they were capable of. It was only natural to not want to cross the street, they zoomed back and forth, it was nauseating to Carter to see people not even bat an eye at the beasts as they crowded the streets to cross.

"Oh come on you can do this, just follow the crowd, you can do it Carter," he told himself "Just follow the crowd." A few second of walking dreadfully knowing that cars could easily rev up like the motors on fiend's chainsaws and leave them all across the ground in a mess of a body parts. A leisurely walk that would take ten minutes to get to the library from the Food shop, took Carter a whole hour due to his fear of crossing the street during the daytime rush of the horrid things.

After an hour of fear, and many memories of nightmares of cars he finally made it to the library. He breathed happily and enjoyed the conditioned air that was warmer than the cold air outside, and smelled pleasantly of a citrus scent, much like some of the Abraxo Cleaners boxes. Visibly shaken, he looked at the librarian and approached her. He then asked to look at their history sections.

"Wow," he said to himself after finishing a fifth book on the entire history of the city. After looking on all the nearby shelves and almost pulling every book off every nearby shelf, "Strange they don't have any volumes that have information after the 2000 period, or as a matter a fact they don't have a 2000 volume either, I should ask someone about that." he thought aloud.

"Why would they have anything after today? Asks Misaka curiously with genuine interest," he hear a soft, inquisitive voice ask, though in a dry and stiff tone. He turned to see a younger girl he vaguely recognised with short chestnut hair and a light school uniform.

"Well the great war happened back in 2077, and since it's 2281 now you should really keep up with the events kid." he said, almost sarcastically. Was she ignorant?

She simply stared at him unflinchingly and unmoving with only her head tilting slightly to left, the goggles resting on her forehead shifting with them motion.

"Are you perhaps a mental patient? Misaka asks in confusion, wondering how someone could create such delusions. Misaka informs you that the year is 2014 and no such war has occurred, Misaka explains informatively." she nodded in assurance, completely believing in her own words.

"Listen lobotomite," Carter hissed under his breath. Kids were not his daily enemy but he would not take this crap from a kid with a bad sense of humor. "Has your brain been scooped out with a rusty spoon? The Great War happened in 2077, when China and the U.S. fought to total atomic annihilation." he paused for a moment taking a look into her eyes, she genuinely believed what she had said. "Could it be that you were taught that? Taught the year was 2014"

"Yes. Responds Misaka with a hesitant nod as to evaluate your mental state."

"What kind…" carter stopped in his train of thought realizing that, the kids were being protected from the horrors of war, this was an island country that is off the east coast of china it's the most logical thing to do to maintain a society sane. "of school did you go to?"

"classified information please input access password to proceed!" the girls tone and posture became more of a trained person than a young girl

"Unauthorized attempts to access will be reported." said the girl narrowing her eyes on him.

"Shit. You're like me more than I thought." he said as he dropped the book "Can't disobey can you Lob?" he turned back to say as he ran out.

As he made his way outside of the library, being yelled at by the librarian, he turned to see the girl running full speed at him. When he turned to look at her again he noticed the duffle bag she'd been carrying around, how he didn't see it earlier he didn't know, neither did he know when she pulled an assault rifle from the bag and had it aimed down at him. He ran into an alleyway in between some tall buildings.

"Shit!" he yelped as a rubber round hit his back making it go numb. He stumbled onto the ground in pained gasps.

"Subject down says Misaka proudly displaying her marksmanship." said the Misaka with her iconic monotone voice. "Marking location for pick up says Misaka informing nearby units asking for guarded escort."

Carter stayed on the ground till she stepped close enough to him so he could pull off a ranger takedown, swiping his foot in across her legs just as she had gotten distracted talking into something or someone. As she fell on her back landing with a monotoned expression of pain, he got up and ran as fast as he could down the rest of the alleyway only to see the girl again, except without the goggles.

"What the actual Fuck are you!?" he yelled, in english, as he pushed her down and ran to left.

"Hey that hurt," said the girl getting up and dusting herself off "What's your problem-" she stopped mid sentence noticing a Sister going after him. "Hey what's going on?" she stopped the Sister questioning her.

"Oneesama, that man attempted accessing sensitive data with regards to the Sisters Project responds Misaka 11,251, breathing heavily as she is not used to chasing people on patrols, and making her voice sound with urgency." responded 11,251 with her palms on her knees facing the concrete.

"He what?" asked Misaka with an expression of dread "Very few were in the program, even less outsiders know about this, who was he?" her mind raced to the worse thoughts of other gruesome experiments the city could conduct on the clones.

 _Hours later_.

Carter sat on top of the mid-constructed building, thinking what the was about, he reach for his head feeling the scars the two bullets had left in his thick skull. He was bad with words to begin with why'd he talk with bennie when they first met, he always hated learning that he wasn't all human. What did ease him was knowing that the memories someone was possible deprived of were now left in the grave, albeit a shallow grave, he could leave all that. Maybe the Big Mt. was the best thing to happen to him, it did him some good knowing that trying to be human wasn't just a unique thing he experienced. Maybe that's why he'd done so much to help the think tank… and Mobius. He ran his hand along a scar along his lower back thanking the think tank for his mechanical spine, never faltered even when he came across some nightkin with rebar, and a knack for breaking people's spines.

His thoughts were cut off by the cold wind that blew across his face. "Now I guess, I pressed my luck, finding someway home is gonna be harder with child lobotomites, or worse, on the look out for me." He sighed as he fell back onto the boxes he'd gathered from the construction worker's trash bin and pulled the day's newspaper over himself and drifted off hoping to not have some dreams about cars.

 _Unknown_

A dark smile came over the face of a woman's face. "Girls we have a job!" she exclaimed.

"Really?" answered a short blonde stuffing a rag doll with plastic prisms. "Why are you so excited?"

"The only reason for her to get excited is good pay." answered a smaller girl with an orange hoodie.

"How much would we get?" a soft voiced girl asked looking through a medicine cabinet.

"Around 500,000, for a retrieval job," she smirked at their confused expressions as she laughed "...each. What's more is that our boss had to work a bit to get us on the list for the retrieval as they only wanted one team on the job."

"Fa-fa-fa-five _hundred_ , each!? For a retrieval? Is it a high level esper?" exclaimed the Short blonde.

"Nope!" smirked the woman "According to the report he's a level zero, but not much else is said about him other than he's a light brown man in his early twenties with messy hair and a well versed unarmed fighter. Not much else."

"You know there's a catch don't you." responded the orange hooded girl.

"Of course there is, that's what makes it fun!" responded the short blonde.

"Exactly!" happily exclaimed the woman. "We head out tomorrow to a spot he's commonly spotted within." it was hard to hide her excitement, being that it was a possibility of meeting someone interesting if the price tag wasn't anything just for show.

 _Nearby Judgement Office._

"Kuroko, Uiharu, I have a favor to ask" said Misaka clapping her hands in a begging gesture.

"What is it Misaka-san?" responded a younger girl in a soft voice, fiddling with the flowers in her hair, she turned to Misaka. "It's strange for you to ask something of us, only when something major comes up." she gave her a warm and patient look.

"Onee-sama!" exclaimed the girl with auburn hair, jumping into her arms. "If there's anything we can do for you, or with you, or even if you ask for my b-" she was stopped in her train of thought with a taze from Misaka.

Stepping over the downed Kuroko she spoke clearly to Uiharu who had a scarlet expression from Kurokos most recent outburst. "Uiharu I need you to run a check on the cities database for everyone within the city, to look for this man." she handed her a hand drawn depiction, and a description of the person."

"Okay I'll report it." said Uiharu.

"No, this is… more for a personal reason." said Misaka.

"No Oneesama can't be looking for another partner, especially not that gorilla! I am her true lov-" Kuroko had listened in and prompted her to get shock by Misaka's electro mastery again.

"I hope you're not doing that Misaka." joked Uiharu. "But why are you doing this?"

"Well not only is he a suspicious character, he pushed me down while running away from a young girl. I didn't chase after him because I stayed to comfort the girl." lied Misaka.

With eyes glowing with anger, Uiharu tapped away at her keyboard like a madwoman. "A lecher on our pretty streets is something I cannot let be, Misaka you find him and you zap him good, then we can take care of the rest!"

Having never seen Uiharu like this before Misaka said simply "Thank you, Uiharu."

"Uhm Misaka-san, There are a few files here similar to the description, but none like the photo, by the way where did you get this?" said Uiharu softly losing her momentum and energy. "We could use more artist with this talent."

"I asked the girl, if she could describe him, and she was able to draw this up and write the description, I have a feeling she was an art student from one of the nearby schools." responded Misaka with a bit of struggle making this up as she went. Also cursing the clones for having such amazing talents with other things.

"I'll see if she can volunteer later, I'll see if I can dig a little deeper for, people that go off the grid, come back tomorrow morning, I'll give you a report." responded Uiharu while typing away at amazing speeds.

"Thank you, and goodnight." she stepped over Kuroko again, who commented spats were unladylike, getting her another shock treatment.

 _The next morning, at the construction site._

Carter awoke to the sounds of the gates opening, and some workers leading in a woman. He watched from above and listened as best he can.

"Ma'am, I mean miss, this is a construction site and we've yet to see any hoodlums messing around here." continued the construction worker.

"To my knowledge there was a fight in which a student broke some bones and a friend of his was found unconscious." responded the woman sporting a purple sweater and brown skirt. "Have you seen any campsites, maybe wrappers lying around?"

Carter looked around his makeshift bed and picked up an empty can and atomized it into his inventory. He quickly gathered the things and set them about as if they were just left laying around.

"The place has been scheduled for a full overhaul." said the woman with a wicked smile, scaring the workers around her. "Here's the permission slip and the new plans, I had an expert set up the first floor to have it collapse against itself."

After looking at the building and back at the woman, the worker nodded "It checks out guys we, have to get out and come work on the building tomorrow."

"Shit, why does my luck always screw me over!" cursed Carter under her breath desperately. "First I Oversleep now they've decided to start from ground zero I gotta get outa here and fast."

"Frenda, are the traps in place? Don't let him get away. Remember he may be a level zero, but Accelerator also thought that a zero couldn't touch him, and he got his ass handed to him." called the woman over the radio.

"You don't think there's lots of places to sneak out, I've had to work my butt off all night setting this up!" responded Frenda pulling her blonde hair out of her face and fixing her black beret on her head, it having moved during her outburst.

"Mugino don't worry I'm jogging around the area to keep a patrol." responded the orange hooded girl.

"Thanks Kinuhata, I know I can at least count on you." responded Mugino looking around the site for anything out of the ordinary. "Takitsubo, the monitors show anything?"

"No nothing yet," She responded calmly unzipping her pink track jacket and opening a water bottle from the back of the work van. "I'll keep you occupied."

 _Judgement branch Office_

"Uiharu do you have any news?" called Misaka holding a tea set. "Also I think it would be better if you made tea."

"Well…" started a tired Uiharu turning to reveal a face full of snack crumbs and puffy cheeks with bags under her eyes. "I checked our databases, some social sites, some international social sites, and nothing. But I found a report from about a week ago, *yawn* and some kids with no abilities were attacked by someone with a matching description, and get this he _stole_ one of their jackets, just when i thought he couldn't get worse." she picked up the tea gratefully and sipped it stopping mid-cup "You're right i should have made this tea."

"Where was this attack?" ignoring the blunt insult Misaki asked "And-" being stopped by Uiharu's finger on her lips.

"It's near the library, a couple blocks away. No more sound please ask Kuroko." finished Uiharu before collapsing on her shoulder.

"Thanks Uiharu." she said warmly as she moved to put the smaller girl on the couch in the office.

The computer Uiharu was working on suddenly began beeping. The screen read "Unauthorized use of surveillance system."

"What?" asked Misaka looking at the computer screen. Her expression turned to dread as she saw a familiar face on the screen "Mugino…" she hissed under her breath. What made her even more alarmed was that the address of the hack was the same as the one on the paper. Quickly she pulled her phone from her skirt pocket and dialed someone. "Kuroko I need a favor!"

"What do I do now?" asked a worried Carter "I have no excuse for being here, I know trespassing isn't taken lightly by the rich." He was currently measuring up the woman that came in this morning a half hour had past of him evading her, but it seemed she would turn in the direction of wherever he want to crawl towards.

"What do you mean you lost him again!? It's a damn camera, focus already!" this was pissing her off, Takitsubo was useless with the camera and both Kinuhata and Frenda were on standby, this left her to look for him. "Frenda, or Kinuhata help me find him."

"Can't I have to wait for the go to detonate a trap." responded frenda into her com radio.

"I'll have to come inside." responded Kinuhata.

"Fine I'll open the gate!" exclaimed a tired Mugino. "Most men wouldn't avoid me for this long." she joked under her breath.

As she made her way to open the gate Carter crawled towards a pipe in the other direction. When Mugino got to the gate, she didn't expect to hear a loud clang from behind her.

"Well shit." said Carter as the pipe he'd crawled into led straight down from the second floor into a tool pile. "My leg, that hurt, ow." he said sitting up to see now a girl accompanied the woman whom he thought to be the owner.

"How long do you think he's been on to us?" said Kinuhata as she ran with Mugino.

"He could be a clairvoyant for all we know, we just need him alive." responded Mugino in the middle of trudging towards the young man.

"He stayed away because he knew you were old," joked Frenda over the com radio.

"Shut up!" yelled Mugino startling Carter.

"I'm sorry I didn't know the owner would show up!" said Carter putting his hands over his head trying to not start anymore trouble.

"Kuroko wait here and don't call judgement." said Misaka in all seriousness around the corner from the construction site. "If I need you I'll call, don't want you to be caught up in any crossfire."

"Are you sure Onee-sama?" called out Kuroko as she saw Misaka run to the site.

The scene she came upon was was somewhat unexpected to say the least. She saw Mugino leading the guy in handcuffs into a van.

"Mugino what are you doing!?" she yelled at the woman with much anger.

"Misaka…" hissed Mugino in a venomous way scaring Kunihara and Carter alike. "And what might you need number Three?"

"That guy you're taking, I need to ask him some questions." said Misaka firmly approaching the van. Sparks forming under her steps. "Are you his escorts by any chance?"

"What's it to you?" responded Mugino the air around her becoming very heated.

 _Judgement office._

"Uiharuuuu!" called a girl with straight black hair, as she entered the office startling the sleeping girl.

"Aaah Saten! What is it is Misaka in need?" responded a more alert Uiharu.

"No why?" asked a mello Saten picking up the tea set and washing it in the office sink.

"Well she came in yesterday with a request to to find this person." answered Uiharu handing her a the information Misaka had given her the day before.

"Whoa this matches the description for one of the newest myths on a myth hunter website." exclaimed Saten excitedly going over to the computer and pulling a browser on one of the monitors. "See look at this read here!"

"Has the alien invasion started?" started Uiharu. "A few days ago a bright flash appeared over one of the cities artificial rivers. Witnesses say a large creature with metallic skin fell into it but when people looked in the water. Nothing was there… Saten where is this going?"

"Just keep reading!" answered an excited Saten.

"Okay fine...Downstream a person came out of the river, with the description of…" She gasped as she read the description and saw the artist portail being eerily similar to what Misaka brought. She quickly found where the occurrence was and found it to be 2 blocks away from the construction site where the attack happened. "I have to tell Misaka." she fumbled a phone in her hand and speed dialed.

 _At the site._

Amidst a battle about to begin, Misaka's phone began to ring. "Hold that thought, it could be information on your V.I.P., Hello…yes...what!?...you mean like he entered illegally right… there's no way he's not human-"

Carter choked at that last part, how did they find out so fast he was a synth? His mind was racing to try to come up with something as they all turned to him.

"So you're telling me he's possibly extraterrestrial?" finished Misaka hesitantly.

"You can't be off worlder," asked Mugino "Can you?"

Carter choked at the absurdity of what they were saying but had taken their hesitation to unlock his cuffs with a bobby pin he always carried in his sleeve. 'Even if i tell them what I've seen they'll take it as a lie.' he tried to think as he looked at the ground.

"Well?" pressed Mugino, fearing she may have stumbled upon the world's first contact.

"I am human." he answered weakly not entirely confident in his answer.

As they all stood looking agape at him. He seized the opportunity to push down the girl behind him and haul ass away from the group.

"Oh shit." said Kunihata as she was thrown almost a full meter away.

"Get him!" yelled Misaka and Mugino in unison.

They both launched their abilities over his head as a warning shot, both abilities hitting the side of the building opening a large hole in the side of the mid-construct.

"Elijah, NcNamara, and Veronica have mercy on me!" he yelled backing away from the falling rubble turning to the rest of the group.

He saw a scene more vicious than a mother deathclaw's face. The small girl had electricity running along her arm and the woman had several plasma balls being controlled by her hands. His eyes the widest they'd ever been. "Steel be with me." he whispered as he pulled his M. and aimed it down on them.

"He pulled out a blaster watch out!" commanded Mugino.

He began to unload the fully automatic recharger pistol on the group outside the van.

The hot laser beam melting bits of the van and glassing the sand it came into contact with.

"Watch the lasers, they're hot enough to glass sand." warned Misaka from behind cover.

"We can see that! Captain Obvious!" yelled Kunihata.

"What can you do electro master?" said Mugino peeking over to barely dodge a ray to the face as she retreated down.

"I don't even know, I can overload the gun or if it's made of iron so I can take it out of his hands!" yelled Misaka in response.

Meanwhile carter had backed up to the wall toward his back till he could feel it, the sound of the M.F.H. blaring in his ears as he made his way. He kept the trigger held down noticing the recharge rate wasn't able to keep up with the fire-rate, he planned to scale as the wall when the charge ended.

"He's gotta reload sometime!" said an aggravated Mugino. Suddenly silence overtook the site and they waited to hear a click or something to signify a reload, but nothing of the such. Misaka signalled to jump out on three to check on his position. They all prepared themselves as Misaka waved... one...two...Three! To their surprise they spotted him already jumping over the small concrete.

"As much as I hate working with you, Misaka blast the wall I'll aim at him and try to slow him down." said Mugino.

"Right!" grunted Misaka ask she pulled a second arcade token from her pocket and pulverizing the wall making Carter turn back to look at the green orb that seemed to be getting closer and closer to him. On instinct he started clicking away on his pip-boy atomizing his power armor over himself. The impacted caused a great dust cloud in the area blocking everyone's view.

"Mugino!" blared everyone on the com link, while Misaka didn't look at her but over head and pointed.

"What Could you-" stopped Kinuhata as she saw a giant green ray going towards the atmosphere at a high angle. "Holy shit. What is he?"

They looked into the ash cloud.

Carter wheezed and gasped for air from within the armor, having left the mic on relaying his pain through the speaker on his helmet. "Never had to take such a heavy hit." he said smugly. He felt a breeze on his stomach and cursed internally.

They saw with horror how a metal humanoid standing around two meters tall with its stomach having superheated metal exposing a fleshy inside. The plasma had burnt his scarred stomach holding everything from small cuts to bullet hole scars and dark bruises.

He ran down a nearby alley and left the group all in a shock, it somehow turned into a creature that can deflect plasma at near point blank range.

"Have any idea what we can do?" asked Misaka beat by what she just witnessed.

"ITEM has some planning to do. You on the other hand have to work with your little entourage of amateurs." responded Miguno with a pleasant smile while getting in the van.


End file.
